


A Fëanorian Song and Dance

by amyfortuna



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Four Elements, Gen, Music Creation, Musical Instruments, Water
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-18
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-14 06:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8002483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amyfortuna/pseuds/amyfortuna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maglor has a great idea for a symphony; Curufin helps him bring it to life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Fëanorian Song and Dance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [uumuu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/uumuu/gifts).



> Thank you for letting me use your lovely OC Héruminyë for Curufin's wife!

Macalaurë was sitting on the bench by the fountain, harp idle in his hands, one ear cocked toward the music of the rushing water, when Curufinwë passed by on his way from the smithy back to the house. 

"Brother? Cáno?" he asked, reaching out to tap Macalaurë on the shoulder. "Are you coming to the feast later?" 

"What?" Macalaurë said, turning to look up at Curufinwë. "What's the time...oh no, is it that late? I meant to be practicing all this while!" 

"What were you doing instead?" Curufinwë said, settling down on the bench next to Macalaurë, taking the harp gently out of his hands and putting it aside. "You were just staring at nothing." 

"No, I was...." Macalaurë took a deep breath. "I was trying to figure out if it's possible to make a musical instrument that incorporates water. I'm working on a grand symphony using instruments that involve the four elements of the world. Air was easy - I'll have chimes attached to dancers. Mother's helping me make drums from stone and metal for earth, Father's working with me to make an instrument that uses fire, some type of organ or calliope, and there's only water left."

"Water is in and of itself musical," Curufinwë said, trailing a hand through the fountain and letting the water in it trickle down into the pool slowly. 

"But hard to control," Macalaurë said. 

Curufinwë smiled. "Not that hard," he said, drawing Macalaurë into a quick hug. "Give me a few days."

* * *

Several days later, Macalaurë was correcting his young student's fingering on the flute when Curufinwë dashed into the music room. 

"Sorry to interrupt your session with Ecthelion, brother," he said, "but I've got something ready to show you and it can't wait another minute!

"Oh, very well," Macalaurë said, laughing, as Curufinwë grabbed his hand and literally pulled him away. "Ecthelion, you see that I am kidnapped and had no choice!" 

Ecthelion joined in the laughter, and followed, bringing his flute with him. 

Curufinwë tugged Macalaurë into the large building that mainly served as a workshop for the family, and over to the wide space that he used for his own projects. Metal tubing lay strewn about, clearly castoffs, and in the centre of the space, a large contraption sat, entirely made of piping. In the centre of the pipes, there was a large device with holes in it, and Curufinwë led Macalaurë over to it. "Here's your musical instrument using water!"

"A water flute?" Macalaurë said, examining it. "You place your fingers over the holes and that creates the sound? But how do you get the water to come through?" 

Curufinwë beckoned Ecthelion over. "Pump this bellows with your foot," he said to him, indicating a foot pedal. Ecthelion slowly began to work the bellows, and after a moment, water spilled out of the holes in the flute, falling down into a channel which carried it away. "This water is recycled through the pipes, so you don't need a continuous supply of fresh water. It will flow like a fountain, with the bellows giving it the pressure to ascend to the top and fall through the holes. And now all you have to do is play."

Macalaurë cracked his knuckles, then spread his fingers out over the flute. There were twenty-eight holes, and he began by playing the scales, up and down. The flute produced sweet, high sounds, delicate and fragile, not especially loud. The running water contributed sound as well, mellowing the tones out, giving them body and richness. After a moment, Macalaurë stopped playing, and flung his arms around his brother. 

"This! This is glorious!" he said. "Thank you." He kissed Curufinwë's cheek, and Curufinwë smiled, wrapping an arm around Macalaurë, returning the hug. "Let's try a duet," Macalaurë said, untangling himself from Curufinwë after a moment, eager to experiment. "Ecthelion, I'll work the foot pedal now, see if I can do both at once. Shall we play _Star Counting_?" That was an easy children's song, made up by Macalaurë himself when Curufinwë was just a baby, to teach him his numbers. 

Curufinwë stood back, carefully observing the workings of the water flute, humming the song under his breath, as Macalaurë and Ecthelion played their flutes, first running through _Star Counting_ , then several other songs for children. After a while, Ecthelion became tired, so Macalaurë played alone, and made up _A Song for Water Flute_ on the spot. The fair sounds attracted others to come and listen: Ecthelion's mother, come to collect him, Curufinwë's wife Héruminyë carrying baby Tyelperinquar in her arms, Nerdanel and Maitimo each holding a twin by the hand, several of the forge apprentices on their way home from the day's work, and last of all, Fëanáro himself. 

As Macalaurë finished the song with a triumphant smile and a last run through the scales, Fëanáro broke into applause and cheers, quickly joined by all the other listeners, even the young twins. 

"Imagine that song mixed with your _Song for Fire Calliope_!" Fëanáro said, eyes dancing. 

"Imagine it mixed with the beat of _A Song of Stone_!" Nerdanel exclaimed, letting go of Pityafinwë's hand to beat an imaginary drum. 

"And you have to get _Wind Dance_ in there too," Héruminyë said. "Attach chimes to me, I'll dance it for you!"

* * *

Curufinwë settled down in the front row, Tyelperinquar tucked in at his side, Fëanáro sitting down next to him with the twins in tow.

Everyone else was either up on the stage - Héruminyë threw him a wink from her spot, poised in the middle of the stage - or behind the curtain, helping the dancers and musicians. Carnistir had made the costumes, Nerdanel was seated at the drums, ready to play, Macalaurë was glancing about nervously from his spot at the fire calliope, his student Ecthelion was the one playing the water flute, Tyelcormo was also one of the dancers, and Maitimo's bright hair could just be glimpsed as he looked out, seeing if the performance was ready to start. 

Fëanáro's hands had been in everything - he'd patiently sewed sequins on costumes, listened to and criticised the songs themselves, danced with Héruminyë and Tyelcormo when they needed partners, and of course developed the fire calliope from scratch. 

Macalaurë stepped out into the middle of the stage, and bowed to his audience. "Welcome to the inaugural performance of _The Four Elements_." He glanced over at Curufinwë and Fëanáro. "It's by no one person that any performance comes together, and this one more than most, for this is a Fëanorian song and dance! Every sound you'll hear is something new, bright and shining, and may you long remember it!" 

He bowed again, very slightly, and turned back to the calliope. Fire leaped up as he struck the opening chords.

**Author's Note:**

> [Pryophones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrophone) and [ hydraulophones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulophone) are real things! And are totally the sort of instruments Maglor would have been experimenting with in Valinor, I think.


End file.
